Many people train their dogs how to roll over and perform other tricks. While you may know that cats are smart, did you know that most cats can be taught to perform tricks? Since dogs are interested in pleasing their masters and cats are not, the training methods that work with canines may not work with cats.
For your first trick, find a behavior that your cat already does. As an example, felines like to bat at objects, so you could teach your cat to bat at your hand as if giving a high five. Getting the cat to do something that he or she has never done before would be next to impossible.
Rewards such as bits of food or cat treats often will motivate felines. Experiment with different treats until you find one that your cat enjoys. Then, only give this food or treat to your cat during training sessions. Rewards such as extra playtime or praise will not motivate felines.
At first, give your animal a treat every time the desired behavior is performed. Later, you should only give the treat intermittently so that a treat is not expected every time.
Patience is key when working with felines. Any frustration or negativity on your part will only alienate your pet from the training process.
If you are trying to stop an undesirable behavior such as jumping on the kitchen table, try spraying water at your cat. Some will learn to associate the displeasure of being sprayed with the action of jumping on the table and stop the behavior.
Cat training can be a hard process since they have their own ideas about what they will and will not do. You can learn how to teach a cat tricks or to not do certain behaviors such as hanging out on your kitchen counter. Although cat training can be difficult since they are not very interested in learning what you want them to, with patience and the right training techniques, you can learn how to teach a cat tricks or to behave in ways that are acceptable to you.
